Kenya’s Group ‘A’ opponents, the Atlas Lions of Morocco, were due in Nairobi on Sunday night for the 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan).
Two-time champions Morocco will play in Group ‘A’ of the tournament alongside Kenya, the 2009 and 2016 champions the Democratic Republic of Congo Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Angola. The teams will be based at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
Kenya enters a crucial week today as teams start arriving for the 19-team biennial tournament, which will run from August 2 to 30.
Morocco, who lifted the Chan title in 2018 and 2020, are among the 19 teams, which will compete in this year’s edition of the biennial competition exclusively reserved for players featuring in their respective domestic leagues.
Morocco will be the first team to arrive in Nairobi for the competition. Yesterday, the team shared a photo of the players selected for the assignment aboard a charter flight, announcing their departure for Kenya.
“Our national team delegation of local-based players heads to Kenya,” the team said in a statement on X, accompanied by a photo of smiling players inside the plane.
Morocco’s coach Tarik Sektioui on Wednesday named a 28-man squad for the assignment. The team is dominated by players from African powerhouses like RS Berkane, Raja Casablanca, Wydad Casablanca, and AS FAR, giving Morocco a big pool of seasoned professionals to choose from.
Notably, six players from newly crowned Moroccan league champions Berkane make the list, including standouts like Abdelhak Assal, Ayoub Khairi, and Reda Hajji.
Adding a touch of international pedigree, two senior national team players have been included — Youssef Belammari (Raja Casablanca), who has earned six caps and was recently involved in Morocco’s A-team matches, as well as goalkeeper Rachid Ghanimi (FUS Rabat) who won Olympic bronze and the Under-23 Afcon title in 2023. Sektioui, 47, said their target is to win the title.
If they succeed, Morocco will be the most successful team in the history of Chan.
“We’ve selected players with the right experience and mentality for a competition like Chan,” Sektioui said.
“Many of them play regularly in top-tier continental club competitions, and we believe their cohesion and tactical discipline will serve us well.”
Morocco will begin their campaign against Angola on August 3 at Nyayo National Stadium. They will next face Kenya on August 10 at Kasarani Stadium, and play Zambia on August 14 at Nyayo National Stadium.
